Look Out For These: Four very different novels each with that special something

I’ve chosen four novels for my January recommendations.  There’s no obvious theme to link them, except to say that I’m sure that everyone reading this post will find that at least one of these four books will absolutely delight them.

The Final Minute by Simon Kernick.  Imagine that you’ve woken up from a car crash with no memory of who you are.  That’s what’s happened to Matt and even though he’s not well, his kindly sister Jane and a psychotherapist Dr Bronson are on call to help.  But as Matt struggles to make sense of a bloody and violent memory, he slowly realises that this set up doesn’t ring completely true.  As Matt tries to escape, a deadly chase begins and he stumbles upon Tina Boyd, thinking she can help, but in the process he finds out unpleasant truths about himself as well as putting himself and Tina in deadly peril.  Kernick has delivered a fast paced novel with large measures of menace, violence and a tremendous pace that seems as if it will never end.

The Beast in the Red Forest by Sam Eastland.  This is the fifth Inspector Pekkala novel, which starts with news that Pekkala’s corpse has been found, but Stalin refuses to believe Pekkala is dead, despatching his assistant Kirov to track Pekkala down and bring him back to Moscow.  Kirov travels west finding himself in the middle of a battle not just with Nazi invaders but between the Red Army and the many partisan groups hiding in the forests.  That’s not the only danger, as Pekkala’s greatest enemy is closing in for the kill and Pekkala is the target.  This novel is a genuine joy to read, a flowing narrative punctuated by tension and bursts of action that keep you guessing until the last few pages.  Eastland has taken an extraordinary setting and delivered an extraordinary novel that’s simply top notch.

Tell No Tales by Eva Dolan.  An ordinary morning turns to tragedy as a car ploughs into a bus queue killing a number of migrant workers.  Ds Ferreira and DI Zigic are assigned the case, even though the Hate Crime Unit is busy with another investigation of murders with what is clearly a racist motive.  Ferreira believes Richard Shotton, a local politician heading a new and popular far right party is involved, but Shotton is smooth and media savvy.  He’s seen as a politician whose going places, despite his extreme views, so proving his involvement is going to be an ever bigger challenge than just trying to keep order on the streets as tensions rise and open racial conflict seems almost inevitable.  This is the second book following on from Long Way Home, with Dolan continuing to bringing to life a world that most people would probably rather not see.

The Boy in the Shadows by Carl-Johan Vallgren.  The book starts with Joel’s father making the biggest mistake of his life.  As Joel screams in his pushchair and his brother Kristoffer refuses to get in the lift of the underground station, the kind offer of a woman offering to take the older boy up the stairs seems a blessing.  Minutes later, the nightmare starts as there is no sign of Kristoffer or the woman.  Both have vanished.  In the present day, Joel the adult has vanished too, so his wife asks an old friend Danny Katz for help.  Katz soon finds he’s not the only one trying to track down Joel and the secrets he uncovers are linked to wealthy and powerful.  This is a debut crime thriller that was highly acclaimed in Sweden.  Definitely one for Skandi crime lovers.

That’s all from me for January – I’ll be back soon with more recommendations for you to look out for – please do let me know what you think of my recommendations and perhaps even suggest a book that I should highlight.  Happy reading.

Romancrimeblogger